The golden retriever trotted down the aisle, a cacophony of barks trailing behind him.

The woman waiting at the end of the aisle knelt on the cold concrete floor and scratched behind the trembling dog's ears, crooning at the large animal with the golden fur.

Mellow was just one of five golden retrievers adopted from the Cleveland County Animal Control Shelter within minutes Wednesday afternoon.

Some were taken in by rescue groups.

Others were adopted by families wanting a pet.

Two women had been parked outside the shelter's gates since early morning, waiting for the facility to open.

Tripp Bowling, supervisor over the shelter, said four of the golden retrievers were found running loose in a neighborhood at the north end of Moss Lake and were picked up by animal control officers on Feb. 7. The owner ended up surrendering the dogs.

The fifth pet was picked up at a different location.

Wednesday afternoon, the small front office at the shelter was packed with people filling out adoption paperwork.

Nancy Braun said she drove from Charlotte to pick up one of the retrievers and had been waiting outside the gates since 7:30 a.m.

Braun said she looked for a couple of months for a golden retriever when a friend sent her an email Tuesday night notifying her of the available shelter dogs.

"I didn't want to go to a breeder," she said. "I wanted to adopt a dog that needed to be rescued."

Braun said her two children are very excited about adopting a new family pet.

"They had a couple names picked out," she said.

Marguerite Mebane, president of the Cleveland County Humane Society, said the agency oversees all rescue groups who take in shelter dogs.

She said she had seven different rescue groups contact her wanting the retrievers.

Shellie Miner, with Golden Retriever Rescue Club of Charlotte, said she had never seen such an outpouring of interest before.

"I think it's the social media," Miner said.

She said she spoke to people from New York and Oregon who wanted to ensure the dogs found homes.

She also talked to a congresswoman from Tennessee and someone from the Philippines.

Bowling said the dogs' photos were displayed on the shelter's Facebook page. Many of those photos are shared far and wide.

"It really helps get them out of here," he said. "We've noticed since (creating the Facebook page) an increase in adoptions."

Donna Reece, who drove from Winston-Salem to adopt Tiger, one of the retrievers, said she saw the dog's photo on Facebook.

"I had one....and he was great," Reece said.

Reece said a friend referred her to the shelter's Facebook page.

She said she already has one dog she rescued from a shelter.

"There's too many that are euthanized," Reece said.

Bowling said it is not unusual for the shelter to take in purebred dogs.

"We get all kinds," he said.

Bowling said a total of seven dogs were adopted within 45 minutes Wednesday afternoon.

For more information on the dogs and cats at the Cleveland County Animal Control Shelter, call 704-481-9884.